To Seek The Truth
by Angel-Goddess
Summary: The World. An MMORPG that has taken the world by storm, and Usagi has finally got her hands on a copy. For some, The World is just a game. But in truth, there is more to The World than what it just seems... (.HackSM) Usagi-centered.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Sailor Moon nor .Hack

**AN** I was partly inspired by a friend, BlueRedemption, who just signed up to and has written a .Hack/SM story. I edited her story, and just felt the need to write my own .Hack since I just burrowed the game off a friend. Well then, happy "vegetating".

The story line generally revolves around the .Hack game. Not the manga. So yes, Kite will be in it. Aww, he's so cute.

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**To Seek The Truth  
_Chapter One_**  
_Entering The World _

**By Angel-Goddess**

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With one perfectly accurate swish - and a blur of silver in the air - the head of an Ogre dropped unceremoniously and rolled… only to stop just a few centimetres away from a flustered blonde who almost shrieked in horror until the head disappeared mere seconds later. The words, 'Level Up!' popped up above the dazed blonde's head.

"You ought to be more careful. You're obviously a beginner, so what are you doing loafing around in a high levelled place like this?" the scolding voice was coming from an armoured teen with piercing ocean blue gaze. His hair, white and very slightly tinted with the very same blue colour of his eyes slightly wavered as the breeze blew past him. He sheathed his sword; the blue-rippled steel that showed how fine the craftsmanship was, made a slight noise as it hit the end of the scabbard. Pure white wings delicately protruded from the back of his well-polished silver and gold armour, untainted of any other colour. He towered over her by about a head or more.

Balmung of the Azure Sky, the Descendant of Fianna, scrutinized the blonde girl that was gazing at him with such awe. Her character design was obviously well thought through as it seemed fairly original, and Balmung had a slight feeling that she could actually be quite a powerful character if she trained well enough.

Long ankle-length golden hair was tied up in an odd hairstyle that consisted of two 'buns' on either side of her head, and the rest flowing freely down like streamers. It strangely reminded him strongly of meatballs and spaghetti. Crystalline cerulean blue orbs were fixated on him in curiosity, framed in long black lashes. She was dressed in a Wavemaster's garb, consisting of a simple white kimono-styled robe with embroidered silver and light blue patterns, with an intricate lining. In her hand, she clutched a staff carved in cheap lightweight white marble with a small yellow gem sitting on crown. A beginner's weapon.

Balmung continued to examine her silently, and almost smirked when he realised that she had started to get a little flustered under his intense stare.

Usagi fiddled, her face was growing hot and she knew without a doubt that she was blushing. How embarrassing. Here she was, finally getting her hands on the world's top selling game and had excitedly tried to explore as much of "The World" as she could. And what happens? She was nearly whacked dead by an ugly Ogre and an evil little goblin in armour as she wandered around in the Theta server and just _had_ to be saved by your clichéd "knight-in-shining-armour"… with added wings.

"Uuhh…" _Oh great Usagi, how intelligent. It was embarrassing enough that he had to see you get bashed around. Now, he's going to think you're extremely stupid. _She thought glumly. This teen was probably the first person that had actually spoken to her in the game and already she was making a bad first impression on him. Usagi silently prayed that she didn't meet this character again.

Usagi's 'saviour'- oh, how she hated that word already – raised an eyebrow at her. "Something wrong?" He asked bluntly.

"No, no. Umm, thanks for the help. But…" Usagi hesitated for a moment. "How come I got experience and you didn't, and I didn't even do anything? … How come I even _got_ experience?" she asked, so much confusion lacing her voice that Balmung could've sworn that even little question marks were popping up above her head.

Balmung suppressed a sigh, "You earned experience points because you're of a low level."

"Ooooh…" The answer to the question obviously dawned onto her for you could see her eyes light up. "I get it!" Usagi gently pounded the bottom of her right hand's fist onto her left palm with a nod and a bright smile at the indifferent teen who just blinked at her oddly. "Oh yeah. My name's Usagi. What's yours?" She asked, her bubbly attitude adding a cheerful ring to her sentence as she held her hand out to him.

Balmung's eye twitched in slight irritation at the happy-go-lucky blonde who just introduced herself to him as he ignored her hand. "How long have you been playing this game exactly?" he enquired, not answering her question. He was wasting his time on this newbie and he knew it. He could easily just leave the odd blonde behind to fend for herself and just attend to his more important business, but for some reason he just …couldn't. Why? He had no clue.

Seeing that she wasn't going to answer her question, Usagi withdrew her hand in slight disappointment. There goes her chance to make a friend. "Ummies… let me see… uhhh…" Usagi's perfectly arched eyebrows knitted together as she tried to think. She tapped her lips with her left index finger before shrugging. "Ten… maybe fifteen minutes?"

Yup. Definitely a newbie. "You should go to the Delta server and talk to people in the root town to learn more about the game. Not start bashing about here in the Theta server with high-levelled monsters. You have no chance." The teen told her frankly.

"How do I do that?" The simple question made Balmung feel like tearing his hair out, but since he literally played by the code of honour, law and justice, he decided that helping this crazy newbie was supposed to be part of his duty.

"Open up your main menu and choose the option 'Gate Out'. It should take you to Theta's root town. From there, go to the Chaos Gate and choose 'Other Servers' one of the servers should have a triangular symbol. That's the Delta server. It's the beginner's server. It should take you to the Root Town." Balmung patiently explained. He looked at Usagi's face and decided not to suppress the upcoming sigh. "You didn't understand that. Did you?"

Usagi sheepishly blushed, "Umm… no. You uhh… talked too fast." She hastily replied.

Balmung looked up at the sky, _Damn, I'm wasting my precious time._ With another sigh, he repeated what he had said, slowly and carefully.

"Do you get it now?" he asked her in a way that made her feel like a child.

Usagi, seeing that his patience with her was running thin, decided not to push it. She could find the way out herself. Well, she hoped anyway. She forced a smile upon her face. "Yeah! I get it. Thank you very much for your help!" she chirped. Usagi watched as relief swept upon the armoured teen's features.

"Right. Well, I'd better be going." He said and he turned his back to her and started to walk away.

"Wait! Mr.. uhh… Mr Angel-Person!"

Hearing the name she had given him, Balmung almost tripped over. He frowned and turned around to shout at her not to call him that, only to find that she was in front of him. He was surprised to see her holding out a rare book that increased your physical attack by five parameters out to him.

"Umm, here. It's uhh… something I found in a treasure chest while wandering around here. I-it should be of more use to you than it is to me. Please take it… um… as a uhh… token of my gratitude." Usagi stuttered, seeing the frown on his face. "Umm. I know it's probably not worth anything to you, seeing as you've probably got rare items. But please take it." She gently pushed the book into his hands and backed away from him before walking in the opposite direction.

Balmung stared down at the book she had just handed to him. As a newbie, she obviously didn't know what this was worth. Why did she give the item to him anyway? It's not like he did anything special. He started to feel a little bad about the way he had treated the blonde who had graciously given him the item without second thoughts. He watched Usagi stop suddenly and frown; she was obviously trying to figure out something.

Balmung continued to watch her for a few minutes as she just stood there. Finally he let out a conceding sigh, knowing why.

-:-

Usagi frowned in frustration. How on earth does she get out of this place? Geez. All these new words and multiple menus… how complicated! She preferred playing the Sailor-V game in the arcade with Minako instead; at least they only had four buttons and a control stick that initiated a few simple-to-do attacks.

"Usagi." The familiar voice made her jump and squeak.

She spun around to face the white haired boy. "Uhh… I thought you left." _Another embarrassing moment to list under Mr Angel-Person's name. He was probably watching me just stand here and mope around with a smirk on his face._ Usagi thought bleakly.

"I was. But I realised that you still didn't understand how to get to the Root Town of the Delta server." The teen pointed out to her, making her flush red in embarrassment. "Am I right?"

"… Uhh… yeah." Usagi admitted. _Ah, my pride._ She thought with a mental sigh, _Torn to shreds._

Balmung took in a deep breath and exhaled loudly. _This is going to be a long day._ He thought, pursing his lips. "Okay, let's start with the basics…"

-:-:-:-:-

_…Loading…_

_…Logging into Server…_

Usagi felt the rush of wind disappear and opened her eyes to discover that she was in a town. "Ooh! Thanks so much, Mr Angel-Person!"

Balmung scowled. "Don't call me that!" he told at the blonde in exasperation, who in turn just grinned at him undauntedly and started to skip off merrily towards the crowded area. Balmung hesitantly followed her, wondering why he was even bothering to 'baby-sit' the aggravating girl that had a bubbly attitude. After all, his self-appointed duty to get her to the Delta server root town was finished.

-:-

So much to do, so much to see, and so many people to meet! Usagi grinned widely; her outgoing, lively personality was starting to show itself once again after her very awkward encounter with her knight-in-shining-armour with wings that rendered her almost speechless. She made her way to a crowded area, intent on making some friends who might want to let her join their 'party'.

It's a good thing that Angel-Boy (he still hadn't revealed his name to her. But seriously, what was the big secret!?) had a change of heart and had started explaining to her the basics of 'The World' more patiently to her. Usagi started to ponder, thinking of what could've caused him to change his mind, but decided that it was too much work to think.

"Hey, do you fancy some fantastic flowing cloaks? Or maybe some precious Staffs at a very, _very _low price?" A man who seemingly popped out of nowhere suddenly asked her with an 'award-winning' smile as he grabbed her shoulder and thrust a beautifully crafted staff made out of expensive-looking cream and white marble right in front of her eyes, making her jump.

"H-huh?" Usagi blinked several times to shake herself out of her stupor.

"I said, would you like some absolutely fabulous cloaks or precious staffs at a low price?" The man repeated, still wearing a large cheshire grin.

Usagi laughed nervously, this merchant was starting to scare her. "I-um… well, how much for the staff?"

"How much you got?" The 'merchant' asked thoughtfully.

"Well, I've got-"

"She's not taking it." The all-too-familiar interrupted.

Usagi whipped around, startled, "Huh? I'm not?" she asked the white haired boy who was glowering darkly at the seller who had a look of pure astonishment on his face as he meekly started to back away.

"B-Balmung-sama!" the seller gasped, his face growing pale as he possesively clutched his goods close to him. "H-how are you?" he stammered with an unsteady smile.

_Balmung?_ Usagi thought, tilting her head. _Is that his name?_

Balmung strode forward and grabbed the shaking merchant by the collar, lifting him up a little.

"What are you doing?!" Usagi cried, alarmed as she grasped the teen's elbow.

Balmung looked down at her. "He was trying to sell you something he made that isn't worth anything." He explained, tightening his hold on the man. "'The World' should be rid of scum like him." He said icily.

The man held his hands up in a guilty gesture, "Balmung-sama, I-I didn't mean to! I-"

The armoured boy cut him off, "You're in no position to speak." He stated, an air of authority lacing his even voice.

The man in Balmung's hold was quivering like a leaf, and Usagi was very much aware of the crowd that started to form around them because of the commotion. "Balmung, let him go…! People are starting to stare." Usagi pleaded, embarrassed. She gently tugged at his elbow.

"Behaviour like this will be dealt with severely."

There was a moment of silence and unexpectedly... Balmung let go of the offender who wasted not time in running off, pushing people out of his way. Without a word to Usagi, Balmung started to walk off. The people moved out of his way, staring at him and whispering, awe evident in their hushed voices.

"Balmung of the Azure Sky! Wow! He looks amazing!"

"Ooh, he's certainly very gorgeous! One look, and I'm already swept away!"

"He's 'The World's' best player!"

"Did you see that? Wow, He's such a hero!"

Usagi jogged after him, her sharp ears listening to the crowd. Angel-Boy? A hero? "Balmung!"

If he heard, he didn't say anything for he just kept on walking.

Once Usagi caught up to him, she tried again, "Umm … Balmung-san?" she started, timidly.

"Why'd you stop me?" He asked her, ever straightforward. "What he was doing was wrong, and you know it."

"Well, I doubt that after the scare you gave him, he would try anything like that again." Usagi amended, smiling to lighten the mood a little. "Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did." Balmung pointed out, a smirk appearing on his face as he looked down at the blonde.

Usagi could've sword she saw the slight twinkle of deviousness in the depths of his ocean blue eyes, but she wasn't sure. She took it as a 'yes', however. "Are you an admin?" She asked inquisitively.

This question made him smile. A genuine smile that she'd never seen on his face before. "No. Not yet, anyway."

"Balmung-san, thank you very much for everything. I have to log out now. I hope to see you around again!" Usagi said with a bright smile.

Balmung nodded, his face indifferent once again. "See you around… Wait a sec." Balmung hesitated, frowning slightly. He was obviously trying to make a decision.

"What is it?" Usagi urged him on, a kind smile on her face.

"Here. It's my member address. Call me when you need me." Balmung finally said after a moment or two of silence.

She happily grinned at him, "Okie-dokie, partner!" she chirped, saluting him. Her face suddenly fell and she looked at him cautiously. "Umm…"

Balmung raised an eyebrow at her, "What now?" he asked.

"How do you log out again?"

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**AN** Pairings I was thinking of was Balmung/Usagi or Kite/Usagi.

Please review. I would love feedback concerning my grammar, punctuation etc. If you hate it, tell me _why._ No use in just saying, "I hate it, cuz it sucks." It doesn't tell me anything or what I can do to improve it.

Much Love,  
-:-Angel-Goddess-:-  
aka Tenshi-Megami


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